Spudding assembly



Sept. 3, 1935.

SPUDDING ASSEMBLY Filed Nov. 2, 1954 2 Shets-Sheet 1 Inventor N. C. AYERS SPUDDING ASSEMBLY Filed Nov. 2, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Attm'ney Patented Sept. 3, 1935 'fi steamed ASSEMBLY I Norman 0. Ayers;v Newark, Qhiof 7 v ApplicationNovember 2, 1934,.Se1'ial No. 751,248 Y 3- claims. (o1. 255-37) v This invention relatesrto; certain new and useful. improvements in spudding assemblies, and

an object of the invention is. to providein an assembly OfzthiS- kind an improved shoe which will pull with the cable. instead of against the CZbIQgfiS is now the .difficulty with the. shoes generallyemployed, the, shoe of the invention thereby insuring an even distribution of the pull by along the line of thecable where 'itcontacts with-the shoe thus reducing to a minimum wear on both the cable and the shoe.

Further, in accordance with the. present invention, a shoe is provided which may beiattached ioiithe cable in. a more efficient; way and-with greater facility thangnow possible; 1

Further in accordance with the presentinvention,v a spring assembly for thespudding .organization is provided whichwill eficiently ab- ;sorb any shock bit-:jarsimparted tothe jerk line and will so 2 take up the, sudden force ato which the 311118 is V, subjected :during the *spudding operationas to reduce, breakage anddamage to the line at the same time insuring higher efiiciency and lowermaintenance costs. II-he invention,;-together with its objects and advantages, will :be best understood. fromzazstudy of-the following description, taken in connection with thejaccompanying drawings wherein:

Figure l is a side elevational view of the improved spudding assembly.

Figure 2 is a side elevational view of a spudding shoe and link assembly associated therewith. i

Figure 3 is a side elevational view of the spring assembly.

Figure 4 is an elevational view of the shoe per se with certain parts'removed.

Figure 5 is a detail sectional view taken substantially on the line 5-5 of Figure 4. I I

Referring to thedra 'ngs by reference numerals it will be seen that the spudding shoe indicated generally by the reference numeral I is of a shape corresponding substantially to the shape of the sp'udding shoe now generally used. At the largest end thereof the shoe I0 is provided with the slot or groove II to accommodate the drill cable l2, and at one side thereof the shoe I0 is provided with'a suitable recess l3 in which is pivoted a dog N that has one endextending into the slot H to engage the cable [2 ina manner to normally and yieldably retain the shoe engaged with the cable against slipping. The beveled free endof the dog I4 is normally urged into engagement with the cable 42 through the medium of a, flat leaf spring l that at one end.

essary to attach the r the cable parallel with'thefslotonthe shoeifit thespring catch ldo'p'en, and l'etthecable-slide into the-groove oftheshoe. This procedure may all be accomplishedbya singleinotion ei attaching the bridle provide a is suitably embedded in thematerial thesho'e i9 and has'a free end bearing against: the dog M in. the manner clearlyshown in Figure4;

Protecting the dog Hi and substantially; closing the recess 13 is asuitable plate l6 that is secured in place through the medium of screws or: other suitable fastening means l7. For limiting rotative movement of the dog in eitherofj two" directions,-the same is provided with a lateral pin lfiqthat operates'in a suitable slot l'9 provided therefor in the plate IS; The pin"!!! also serves as a handle for manually'swinging the the action of spring l5.

dogld against I l in one side ofithe shoe 33yprovidin he slot 'iEl it will be apparent? that theshoe"=mayf be attached to the cable-with ease.-- All that is} shoe to the cable is tofslip the foot -and be completedwithin a-f As is well known when' the' jerk lir'ie is in a ew minutes;-

pulling position, the presentshoes, being-in one piece, will not give-and consequentlywilli-siide up arid down 'thedrilling cable within a certain confined area; This area is l-ir'rii ted by what is ture of a cable 29 that at fone end is anchored,

to the floor 2! of the rig and at an opposite' 'end is secured directly to the shoe in accordance with present practice. This continual sliding of the shoe on the cable tends to wear the cable as well as the shoe. To overcome this, instead of link 23 being pivoted to the link 22 is provided with a projection 22a to which is pivoted the bridle or cable 2E as shown in Figure 1. The links 22 and 23 forming an artic-v ulated connection between 2e directly to the shoe, I pair of pivoted links 22 and 23, the

shoe in while the the bridle or cable 2i] and the shoe in permits the jerk line to change sliding on the cable i As is well known, allspudding orjerk lines today are connected directly to the crank 240i the band'wheel 25. These lines have brought to light its position as the crank rotates without the shoe 1 two big objections which have not as yet been;

eliminated. Manila lines were used due to the which absorbs part oi the.

give of the rope,

shock impartedv on the line when the tools were 1 'of the wrist pin 29 engaged with a selected one s monplace. For many years, "oil men have deavored to use 'a wire line. This practice has 'alsoproven unsatisfactory because, while the wire line would not break, yet it would not take up the shock which was imparted directly to the entire rig. To overcome these difficulties, I have provided an improved spring assembly 26 for operatively bonnecting the jerk line 21 at one end to the-crank 24 of the band wheel l5. k

The aforementioned spring assembly 26 comprises, as best shown in Figure 3, a wrist pin collar 28 that is secured through the medium of the openings in the crank 24,.to the'crank 24; a connection head 30 that at one end is equipped with a roller 30"about which is-trained ,ceived in the furcations of the jerk line 21 and which at its other end is bifurcated to receive the closed end of-aU-bolt 3|, a pin 3| serving to connect the U-bolt and connection head 30 in a manner clearly shown in Figure ,3. Also, a second U-bolt 32-is provided will be apparent that the U-bolts 3| and 32 are mutually disengagedand are free tomove longitudinally relative to one another and in reverse directions. 7

sufiicient tension to permit the shock being absorbed and still permit the full'pull made on the the tools in the drill cable raising and lowering hole. The size ofthe spring and the associated parts will of course varyas the situation demands, T00, the connection head 30 will be of such a shape and construction as to insure of' maximum strength with minimum weight.

Completing the assembly is the roller 31 journaled in the bifurcated end of the aforementioned link 22 and about which is trained the jerk line 21 serving to connect the springassembly 26 and the link assembly associated with the shoe I0.

What is claimedis:

eccentric pin of the band and including'a spring Also, the spring 35' will be of just abiiab 1. In a spudding assembly including a shoe, an anchoring bridle for the shoe, a band wheel crank, and a jerk line, means on the shoe for releasably engaging the shoe with the well drill cable, link means operatively connecting the shoe with the anchoring bridle and jerk line respectively, and a spring device for connecting the jerk line with the eccentric pin of the band wheel crank, said shoe being provided with a slot in one face thereof for receiving the drilling cable, and a spring dog pivoted to the shoe and extending into the slot for confining thecable within the slot, and said'spring device including a collar member adapted to be engaged with the wheel crank, a connection head having'roller means for engagement with the'jerk line, a longitudinally extensible connection between said collar and connection head, member normally urging said collar and head away from one another.

2. In a spudding assembly, a shoe having a lateral cable receiving opening at one end into the slot, a dog pivoted within the recess and into the slot to engage the cable, a spring anchored within the'recess and bearing against the dog to urge the same in one direction, a' plate secured to one face of the shoe and disposed over said recess, said plate being provided with a. slot,

and a lateral pin onthe dog operating in said slot.

3. In a spudding assembly, a spring device for connecting the jerk line with the eccentric pin of the band wheel crank of a spudding assembly, said spring device including a collar member adapted to be engaged with the eccentric pin of the band wheel crank, a connection head hav- 7 ing roller means for-engagement with the jerk line, and a longitudinally extensible connection 7 between said collar and connecting head including a pair of mutually disengaged U-shaped members free to move longitudinally relative to one another and in reverse directions, end caps coil spring disposed about said U-shapedmembers and interposed between said caps.

NORMAN C. AYERS.

slot. and a lateral recess having an end extending associated with said U-shaped members, and a 

